Walkin' Around Checkin' Stuff Out. #74
Ralph’s Shoe Repair.
Across the street from Sandy’s Tavern (known for their sour cream and green olive burger) is Ralph’s Shoe Service. The last time we were at Sandy’s for burgers and Bingo I made a note to check this place out. I love shoe repair joints. Sadly, these days there aren’t many shoes that can be repaired even if you wanted to. They’re made so cheaply the soles can’t be replaced if you wanted to, and it would be cheaper to just throw them away and buy a new pair. Bummer. But places like Ralph’s still exist and I’m glad they do.
Let’s call him Ralph the 3rd...I didn’t get his name, but he did tell me he’s the 3rd generation running this little shop. It was started by his grandfather at 50th and Xerxes and moved into Southdale Mall when that opened in 1956. They moved to this spot on Penn Avenue when the mall scene died out a decade or two ago. I tried to get more info on Ralph’s but their web address goes to an offshore gambling site. That’s sort of perfect. When you’re busy repairing shoes by hand you don’t have time for website updates and stuff.
I love these little shops...with every kind of leather dye, leather cleaner, leather conditioners, types of shoe laces and whatever other accesories for shoe ownership I didn’t even know existed. I came in search of a particular type of shoelace and of course he had them. Legit, for sure.
3rd generation shoe cobbler. This dude is all no bullshit. Need a pair of shoes fixed…he’ll do it.
Behind him on the wall are framed pictures of the shop through the years, starting with the little shop at 50th and Xerxes, and couple from Southdale Mall. They would have to redo the store with each lease renewal so the look changed drastically every 10 years or so. He seemed happy to be out of the mall and in an old school strip of shops along Penn Avenue. Ironically he’s back in the type of shop the mall threatened to make obsolete when it opened in 1956.
Shoelace Nerd.
Ever had a pair of Cordo-Hyde shoelaces? They’ll change your life. Ok...they won’t change your life in any real meaninful way, but they will make you start thinking about shoelaces and how these waxed cotton shoelaces made in the U.S.A. never slip and stay tied without needing to knot them twice. They do exactly what a shoelace is supposed to do, and they do it really well. It’s the simple things...
I couldn’t even find a website for Cordo-Hyde shoelaces, further deepening the mystique around the product.
While we’re on the topic of shoe cobblers…
A few years back I met a guy named Zen. He’s mostly known for making custom colored soles through his company Greenwich Vintage.
I had him resole a couple pairs of my boots and I even got to hangout and watch him work. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the amount of work it takes to repair a pair of shoes. It’s hard work, and gets bloody at times. Zen sliced himself pretty good while I watched him work…it was the kind of cut that would have sent many to the emergency room...but he just reached over, grabbed a tube of superglue and sealed it shut that way. Not sure that’s how doctors recommend dealing with a cut like that, but it worked for him.
Piles of shoes, machines and tools. The smell of glue and leather. A rag with blood spots...superglue used to seal an open wound as to not bleed on the product...no time to wait for the bleeding to stop, gotta make, gotta work. Artists have studios, Zen has his workbench. If ever there was an honorable trade, it would be shoe repair.
I met ‘Zen’ at a mototcycle show this summer...he took one look at my shoes, knew what they were (Redwing Postman’s) and scolded me for how they looked. They were a little rough, but I work those suckers. Zen makes custom colored souls...that’s his art, but he also does shoe repair...that’s his craft. So I finally got out to his shop in Waconia and got to hang out for a few hours and got an overview of shoe repair. Damn cool day. Love meeting people that have a passion for something and do it well. As a bonus, those Postman shoes are gonna get the treatment.
This is right before Zen sliced the top of his thumb open pulling nails out of the bottom of my boot with a tool that looks something out of a horror torture film. Not missing a beat, he wiped away the blood and covered the wound in superglue...getting back to work like nothing happened. An office job, this ain’t.
Zen works the Landis, a hundred year old beast of a stitching machine that looks like it could stitch through lead. Zen says you can tell how your day is going by how well the Landis treats you.
Support and appreciate your local cobbler and the work they do…and if you have a pair of shoes that can be repaired, repair them.
Cool post. Shoe/boot repair is such a neat thing. I am always fascinated by crafts like this.
George's Shoes & Repair in Arden Hills is also a gem (they have stores on Grand Ave and Stillwater too). They have been in business for only 120 years! Their Instagram account has some entertaining content.
This is a good one, WACSO! I'm old enough to remember the drama when Ralph's was ousted from Southdale - glad to see they are still soldiering on!